The press release had wonderful information detailing the event, so I'm sharing it here. Many of these events are free or extremely affordable ($10 or less), so make sure you stop by the Walker Art Center to check this out!

Several filmmakers will be present through the run of INDIgenesis to talk about their work including, Lyle Corbine, Missy Whiteman, Zack and Adam Khalil, Heather Rae and Cody Lucich. Picture the classic western The Searchers set in Nunavut. Find yourself in the Minneapolis neighborhoods of Missy Whiteman's newest film. Pay tribute to American Indian Movement peace warrior John Trudell and enjoy the Pines' music video on which he and Whiteman collaborated. Join an exploration of ancestry and language in a program of shorts, learn the Ojibwe tale of the Seven Fires Prophecy, and more.

Reflecting upon the series, Whiteman says, "We are in the beginning of a new era in Native cinema, a place where our ancestors are given life, our voices rise, and we return to our traditional ways of being through the lens." INDIgenesis builds upon the legacy of the Two Rivers Native Film and Video Festival and is programmed in collaboration with Whiteman (Northern Arapaho and Kickapoo Nations), a writer, filmmaker, and digital media consultant whose films incorporate indigenous teachings and values as a means of revitalization and preservation.

Shot in the summer of 1920 in southwest Oklahoma, the film features more than 300 members of the Comanche and Kiowa tribes who integrated personal objects into the story of two suitors vying for the affections of the Kiowa chief's daughter. A live score accompanies the screening. 1920, US, silent, 87 minutes.

Mekko
Directed by Sterlin Harjo
Saturday, March 4, 7:30 pm

A thrilling redemption quest inflected with shades of the supernatural, Sterlin Harjo's third feature follows Mekko, a recent parolee who encounters Bill, a malevolent figure he suspects might be a shape-shifter. 2015, US, 84 minutes.

In this reimagining of John Ford's classic western of the same title, gorgeously set in Nunavut circa 1915, an Inuk man tries to find the invaders who destroyed his home and kidnapped his wife. 2016, Canada, in Inuktitut with English subtitles, 94 minutes.

Using storytelling to address erasure and preserve traditions for future generations, these short films beautifully express filmmakers' examinations of ancestry, language, and history. Program includes Shimásáni by Blackhorse Lowe, Anishinabemowin Nagishkodaading by Eve Lauryn-Lafountain, and Shinaab by Lyle Corbine

Area Premiere! The Coyote Way: Going Back Home
Director Missy Whiteman in Person
Thursday, March 16, 7:30 pm
Free

This sci-fi docu-narrative follows Charlie, who is forced to make a difficult choice. Featuring an entirely Native American cast, the film was shot in the Minneapolis neighborhoods of Phillips and Little Earth. 2016, US, 30 minutes.

This experimental documentary explores the Ojibwa story of the Seven Fires Prophecy, which has been interpreted as predicting the arrival of the Europeans and subsequent destruction. Bold, smart, and unflinching, the film examines the relationship between cultural tradition and modern indigenous identity. 2016, US and Canada, 75 minutes.

This intimate portrait of poet and American Indian Movement leader John Trudell is the result of 12 years of extensive research and features interviews and archival footage. He passed away in 2015, and the screening pays tribute to his life and influence. 2005, US, 80 minutes.

"Time Dreams"

Resulting from a collaboration with John Trudell and featured as the closing track on the Pines' 2016 album Above the Prairie, "Time Dreams" serves as a grace note to a life of inspiration, activism, and preservation of the human spirit. The video is a collaboration between the musicians and Missy Whiteman of Independent Indigenous Film and Media.

Native filmmakers Heather Rae (director of Trudell), and Cody Lucich discuss documentary filmmaking, activism, and representation and present footage from a forthcoming documentary about the global, indigenous uprising born at Standing Rock in North Dakota.